Boston Bruins Recap: Despite Win Over Isles The Team Is Still Toast

Boston Bruins Recap: Despite Win Over Isles The Team Is Still Toast

The Boston Bruins captured a win in what seemed like the most important game of their NHL season as the team beat the New York Islanders to stop their four game losing streak from going to a five game skid.

Going into the game the B’s found themselves on the outside of the playoff picture looking in with the Islanders being the team that was ahead of them in the Wild Card spot, with the win the Boston Bruins moved back into the wild card spot and currently sit a full two points ahead of the Islanders in that spot. Mathematically the B’s have just north of a 60% chance of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs and they only sit one point behind the third place Toronto Maple Leafs.

Despite the match moving back into Boston’s favor with seven games remaining in their regular season campaign, you can’t help but feel down on the franchise that has missed the playoffs each of the last two seasons and is coming off of a disastrous skid which ended in their star goaltending shitting his pants.

Even if Boston maintains this second wildcard spot it doesn’t mean much because they would have to face the Washington Capitals who are the top team in the Eastern Conference. That is a matchup that even the most optimistic Bruins fan knows they will lose quickly. Now if they can get by Toronto, then maybe, just maybe, there is a chance.

If the B’s sneak back into the third spot in the Atlantic they will then face off with the Ottawa Senators, a team that they are currently 0-3 against in the season series. But with the Black and Gold facing the Sens in the second to last game of the season they have the chance to change all of that momentum. If they can do all of this, which might be a long-shot, you could see this Bruins team make the playoffs and win a round.

But do not get your hopes up as the chances of this happening are slim at this point, especially after last weeks loss against Ottawa and the recent play/injury to goaltender Tuukka Rask.

I think at times like this it is important to remember going into the season many of us thought this Boston Bruins squad would not be playoff team this season given the lack of offseason upgrades and the general feeling of the team. But instead this years team has shown promise, players like David Pastrnak have broken out and rookies like Brandon Carlo have shown great promise. Even the promotion of Bruce Cassidy has shown the team has found a capable man in charge of the team.

With prospects like the Charlie McAvoy’s of the world on the horizon under GM Don Sweeney‘s excellent prospect acquisition skills we might see a young Boston Bruins team who can win a title in the near future. So my fellow Bruins fans, this might not be our season but it has shown promise of a future that looks brighter than it did at the end of last season.

Tanner founded Trifecta Network in Spring of 2016 and has been the Chief of Content for the Network since that time. Currently Tanner covers all the sports teams in Boston and has contacts in many of the teams in the city. Before starting Trifecta, Tanner was a Site Expert for the FanSided site Chowder and Champions before leaving to cover Boston teams on the ground as a member of the media for Trifecta.

Boston Bruins Make Championship Caliber Type Of Move

Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced on Tuesday that the team had acquired defensemen Nick Holden from the New York Rangers in exchange for defenseman Rob O’Gara and a third-round pick in the 2018 draft.

Now I know what many of you are likely thinking. Nick who? Where is the big move? But pace yourself Bruins fans, this is the type of depth acquiring move that many Stanley Cup contenders do in order to bolster their squad.

Holden is a 30-year-old d-man who has played in 55 games for the Rangers in 2018-18 with three goals, nine assists, for 12 points with 14 penalty minutes. Holden had a career year last season playing in 80 games with career highs in all offensive categories with 11 goals, 23 assists, for 34 points with a plus-13 rating. In addition to having a stand out 16-17 regular season Holden added two goals and two assists in 11 postseason games for New York.

Holden played his first three professional seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets before being traded to the Rangers on June 26, 2014, in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft.

O’Gara who the Bruins traded away is 24-years-old and has played in 11 NHL games with Boston over the course of the last 2 seasons. O’Gara played in 43 games with the Providence Bruins in 2017-18 with two goals and six assists with a plus-five rating. He was Boston’s 151st overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

The move straight up for Holden is a solid one for Sweeney. It provides the Bruins with the defensive depth they need while keeping them flexible moving forward with Holden playing on an expiring contract.

It sures up their left side defensemen depth with a player that can play the penalty kill to reduce some of the high minutes that Zdeno Chara is racking up. This deal seems to take Boston out of the running for landing Rangers defensemen Ryan McDonagh or any other type of blockbuster trade for a d-man

Holden, a left-shot, has the ability to play either the left or right side adding some flexibility to the roster for Head Coach Bruce Cassidy when making the lineups or even Sweeney if he wanted to move a defensive piece out. Acquiring Holden fixes the depth issue Boston had without giving up anything off of their NHL roster, an impressive feat for Sweeney who opted to make an early trade to avoid paying the NHL trade deadline price.

In theory, Holden will likely pair up with Charlie McAvoy with the potential reunion of Chara and Brandon Carlo possible. But the good thing about Holden is the flexibility, so in theory, Cassidy will have plenty of options to fool around with to find what works and doesn’t work.

This certainly wasn’t the flashy move many were calling for, but it was the smart one. Credit to Don Sweeney.

Boston Bruins Need To Stay Away From Ryan McDonagh

Bruins Need To Look To Future And Not The Now

Recently the talks between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins about a trade involving Rick Nash and/or Ryan McDonagh have heated up. Now, these would be great players to add to this team if that is the direction the team wanted to go. The only problem is that Sweeney and Neely have been pushing for youth. If this is the case then it should stay that way.

Also, it seems like the asking price for either of the two is Carlo a prospect and a high-round (1st or 2nd) pick. That is too much for two guys getting closer to the end of their career than the start. McDonagh is 28, Nash is 33. Both are a bit too old for the direction the Bruins want to go. The league is all about youth right now. Right now the Bruins have that and a lot of it.

This is also why some people do not see this as a problem. The problem is that they may be obliged to make a move. Thre is no need to make a move if there is no reason for one. Boston Has improved their defensive game a ton this year and bringing a new guy could mess with that.

I do not want to see the Bruins try and win now just because they are hot. I do not think they could beat the Capitals, Lightning or Pittsburg at this point in a series. Also, the Bruins are still a bit behind top teams in the west. An entire series with one would be difficult to come out on top. They should just stick with what they have and plan for the future.

Boston will still be able to make a decent playoff push this year but all the way seems like a bit of a stretch. The cup within the next five years is within reach if they stay the course.

All we can do is hope that Cam and Don decide to do the right thing when they are called upon.